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There is something you must do if buying travel insurance for a fly/ride motorcycle holiday – Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) carefully.
I used to have annual travel policies when living in Japan and frequently visiting Philippines (above) and SE Asia which I arranged via a broker to ensure covered motorcycling but now with a pre existing condition I am excluded from those and have to obtain new (expensive) travel insurance each trip I make.
What has caught my attention is some insurers who advertise travel insurance for motorcycle riding activities for an additional fee then have clauses in their PDS making the insurance null and void for many riders.
One example I picked up was CoverMore quietly added a clause in their PDS that says you must own a registered motorcycle in Australia of an equal or larger engine capacity to the one you rent overseas. I’ve used them a few times in the past but depending on when this was added I was actually uninsured. Pretty sneaky – who would think when you tick the box specifically adding on their optional motorcycle insurance that there would be such a exception buried in the PDS.
So even if using an insurer you previously thought was ok you have to read every update to the PDS to see if anything new has been added.
An item I noticed a couple of years back was World Nomads which was popular on Horizons Unlimited with overland travel riders and that I had used myself added a clause that motorcycle riding was only covered when you were in the company of a licenced guide. Again I bet many riders are unaware they are not insured just because they are riding independently.
Riding in Vietnam Australians are technically unlicenced because our International Drivers Permit is not recognised nor is our Australian licence so depending on the wording of your travel insurance and the interpretation of it’s loss adjuster you will be uninsured there. I completed three rides in Vietnam but uncertain if I will ride there again.
I have also noticed that most who do cover motorcycle riding exclude carrying a passenger on motorcycle even if you are licenced to have a pillion so read all the PDS keeping an eye on the wording around riding as a couple.
Just to be clear I am talking about being covered for medical in an accident not for the bike or any rental excess. All of my rides in SE Asia had no insurance on the motorcycles with most rental shops holding your passport as collateral. I was blaze’ about it 12 years ago but have become more risk adverse since. I’ve booked and cancelled riding Thailand the last two years and cancelled it again next year. I’ve ridden 25 tours in SE Asia with no bike insurance and never had an issue but the phrase ‘pushing your luck’ comes to mind.
Australia has reciprocal health care arrangements with 11 countries, one that many riders might visit is New Zealand where I can vouch we receive free ambulance and public hospital treatment. But most popular riding destinations you should have insurance to cover medical and ambulance costs and when seeking that for riding you need to read the PDS carefully knowing the travel insurance industry loss adjusters are notorious for ruthlessly denying claims so make sure you are actually covered.
Wow, that is great to know. Had no idea, very sneaky as you say.
Hi Mark,
Yes it’s a heads up for riders to check the small print, I don’t know if I was actually insured on my recent ride in Canada due to the change in the PDS that I had not read previously. Quite a scary thought!
Yeah, insurance scams exist with most insurance agents. Where they state motorcycles are covered, only to find when reading the pds its only covered up to 250cc or less.
Yes that is very common Steve, I’ve seen up to 125cc only also.
Very good post. May I ask, which travel insurance company(s) do you use yourself at the present time?
I stopped using Covermore 4 years ago and now use Tick, which has sufficient motorbike riding cover for my needs and also covers a pre-existing condition.
PS. I love your blog. I rarely post a comment, but have been quietly reading for many years. I generally travel and ride a motorbike in Asian countries for 8+ weeks each year.
Dale – Hobart, TAS.
Hi Dale,
I also have used Tick a few times as well ‘1 Cover’. Some destinations made prices vary or affected my eligibility. Pakistan was notably not covered by many.
Thanks for your kind words.
On my last trip to Vietnam in 2023 I tried to nail down this issue with insurance for Australian riders. I emailed the insurance company I was going to use (1Cover) and they initially told me that I would be covered as I had an appropriate Australian licence for the bike I wanted to ride then towards the end of their email they said that I needed to be riding legally in the country! So in effect they didn’t address the question I asked directly but contradicted themselves. You have to assume that they will not/might not cover you as they have a get out. However the rental companies in Vietnam at the time took the position that in reality their Australian clients who had needed to claim hadn’t had their claims knocked back. I suspect that the Australian insurers hadn’t really got their head round the fact that their Australian customers were technically riding illegally and so accepted the claims or even used their discretion and took a view that the status of their Australian licence took precedence. It is an exasperating situation as common sense tells you that as long as you have the correct home country licence then you should be fine. Instead this ridiculous bureaucratic nonsense with the different IDP treaties stuffs it up for us in Vietnam.
I have also come across the small print that limits the size of bike you can ride. It is really tricky as they trumpet their motorcycle coverage but then limit it. It would be very easy to miss this when taking out a policy. Fortunately I tend to rent bikes under 200cc in Asia. I haven’t come across the “you must own a bike of the same capacity in Australia” yet! That really is sneaky. I guess we just have to be very careful and thorough and read the small print.
Hi Tim,
Perhaps injured riders in Vietnam never told their insurer they were riding?
I only really insure for the major accident scenario and in that situation not sure it would be possible to conceal the cause.
I have a friend who worked in the travel insurance industry and his stories make me think if there is a way to deny a claim they will.
It certainly pays to read the small print with travel insurance.
I have claimed on travel insurance only once. A few years ago I fell down a mountain while hiking and claimed medical expenses and some loss of equipment. To my surprise they did pay up promptly and in full with no quibbling. I had to jump through the hoops such as provide paperwork and receipts but other than that it was straightforward. I have also had to claim on income protection insurance for lost earnings and again it was a similar process. My impression is that medical claims are relatively straightforward as long as it is not a pre-existing condition that hasn’t been declared. A lot of the problems people face is over things like cancellation where there are a lot of fiddly exclusions. For example earlier this year I had an Emirates flight through Dubai just as the war kicked off. I called my insurance but not covered as losses through war never are under travel insurance unless you have a very specialist specific policy.
As regards Vietnam I have ridden there three times more than likely effectively uninsured. Now I am a bit older I wouldn’t be willing to do that again.
Hi Tim,
Yes war and natural disasters or acts of god – not covered I think?
I am writing this in Tokyo airport about to fly Qatar and they have been lobbing missiles at each other in the gulf again. My plan was if the flight was cancelled I’d ask for a credit then find another flight. In a big major hub like Tokyo with almost every airline I felt confident I’d be able to continue. But it’s flying so all good so far.
I’m not sure I’ll get back to Vietnam either. I keep telling myself to pivot back to SE Asia but I think it was fortunate I rode that region when I was a bit younger.
I do intend to ride again in Southeast Asia. I find that riding a small bike such as a Honda XR150L type of bike or even a scooter makes a huge difference. The light weight combined with riding at low speeds so I can relax and take in the scenery on the quieter back roads makes things a lot easier and dials down the risk.
Enjoy your trip!
Hi Tim,
I’m at the stage where the thing I want most is ease of travel.
My current trip has me exhausted and feeling unwell before I even turn a wheel. 3 days of flying from Townsville to Athens.
Asia is much closer and I find it usually easier for doing the little things like eating which is often a harder mission than I want it to be in parts of Europe.
However there remains so much riding in Europe I could do. I have really not ridden much of Italy or France and then I could explore more of Germany and Spain. But each time I fly to Europe I say never again.
See how I feel after this one and then how my health is after next scan.
Regards
Warren